Perhaps mirroring the situation statewide, Northampton and Lehigh county election officials anticipate having to spend additional money to promote the new rules and print materials that will be used at the polls by election workers to check voter IDs. They also may hire additional staff, Kraus writes.

Implementing the law is expected to cost about $1 million in state taxpayer funds, with another $3.8 million in federal funds. The tab has been pegged at as high as $11 million, however, by the left-leaning Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center.

Launching the new requirement in a presidential election year will be a challenge, Dee Rumsey, Northampton County's elections director, tells Kraus. The typically long voting lines could be even longer than usual come November, she said.

"I personally think it could really delay it," Rumsey said. "We are giving [poll workers] a lot more to do."

The new requirements will be covered in annual training provided poll workers, said Timothy Benyo, Lehigh County's chief clerk of elections and voter registration. But training poll workers to recognize and verify multiple forms of ID will be a challenge.

"There are lots of questions that need to be answered before this gets implemented," Benyo said.

The rest of today's news starts, as always, after the jump.

Jurors In Sen. Jane Orie's ... ... corruption retrial ended their fourth day of deliberations on Sunday without reaching a verdict. Jurors in the Allegheny County Republican's case deliberated until 10:40 p.m. on Sunday, the Associated Press reports this morning. Orie faces charges that she illegally used public resources for political purposes.

Tuition Breaks For ... ... the children of Penn State and other state university employees are getting some scrutiny now that the schools face 20 percent to 30 percent reductions in state funding and taxpayers are asked to potentially pay more, the Patriot-News reports this morning.

If You Were Tracking ... ... presidential politics over the weekend, then you know that GOP hopefuls Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich paid a call on the annual Pennsylvania Leadership Conference in Camp Hill, Cumberland County. Our Washington colleague, Colby Itkowitz, checked in with Gingrich and covered Santorum's speech to the conference. And in the GOP race for U.S. Senate, party-endorsed candidate Steve Welch took heat for his 2008 primary vote for Barack Oabama. He offered a mea culpa to the crowd.

Former Gov. Ed Rendell ... ... told MSNBC over the weekend that he thinks Santorum is going to win the state during the April 24 primary. Here's the video.

What Goes On. Democratic lawmakers and activists gather at 10:30 a.m. in the Capitol rotunda to renew their opposition to the mandatory ultrasound bill, Voter ID and "other key subjects." And at 1 p.m., the Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center holds a budget-related newser in the Main rotunda.

What Goes On (Nakedly Political Edition). As befits a session week, there's a full schedule of fundraisers on offer this morning. Here's the schedule: 9 a.m.: Breakfast for Rep. Babette Josephs 11 a.m.: Lunch for Rep. Mark Mustio 11 a.m.: Lunch for Rep. Richard Geist 11:30 a.m.: Lunch for Rep. Frank Burns 11:30 a.m.: Lunch for U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly 5 p.m.: Reception for Rep. Stan Saylor 6 p.m.: Reception for Rep. David Reed 7 p.m.: Reception for state House candidate Anthony Pugliese Ride the circuit and give at the max, and you can expect to part with a relatively modest $6,500 today.

You Say It's Your Birthday Dept. Best wishes go out to reader Todd Abele of Harrisburg this morning. Congratulations.

On The Capitol Ideas iPod This Morning. OK. So here's the thing: All weekend, we've had the eternally annnoying "Mmmm ... Mmmm ... Mmmm," by Canada's Crash Test Dummies stuck in our head. And it's no understatement to say it's getting a little tedious. While we would not be so cruel as to rope you into our suffering, we will share another tune from the band's mid-1990s breakout record. Here's "Afternoons and Coffeespoons."

Monday's Gratuitous Soccer Link. Have we mentioned how much we love Premier League chancers Stoke City? Over the weekend, they stymied Manchester City, holding them to a 1-1 draw thanks to a great goal from Peter Crouch. This gives Manchester United the chance to return to the top of the Premier League when the Red Devils face Fulham tonight. United have screwed up past opportunities before. But with weeks remaining in the season, there's not a lot of room left for error.

All right. That's it for now. We'll be back a bit later this morning with more news and updates.